Ford Willow Run Assembly Plant one B-24 every 55 minutes
Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 2:19 pm
by puma guy
I was sent this video and was amazed by it. First by the fact it was ready in June 1941, six months before Pearl Harbor, and second by it's efficiency. Built by Henry Ford it was the largest plant under one roof at the time and had a 90 degree turn at one end to avoid paying taxes in an additional county. Ford hired his own test pilots. One B-24 Bomber off the assembly line every 55 minutes!
Re: Ford Willow Run Assembly Plant one B-24 every 55 minutes
Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 2:49 pm
by ELB
That is pretty amazing.
Re: Ford Willow Run Assembly Plant one B-24 every 55 minutes
Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 2:55 pm
by WTR
I was amazed that the Peter Built plant in Denton turned out 93 trucks per day some 20 years ago.
Re: Ford Willow Run Assembly Plant one B-24 every 55 minutes
Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2018 12:26 pm
by Thunderbolt_47
I was amazed as well when I took a dive into the numbers of, well, everything, produced by the USA during WW2. There even were special paint drying booths where vehicles would be "baked" by sun lamps so that there wasn't a second lost waiting for paint to dry on Sherman tanks before packing them on Liberty Ships headed straight towards Europe!
Re: Ford Willow Run Assembly Plant one B-24 every 55 minutes
Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2018 3:58 pm
by surprise_i'm_armed
WTR wrote: ↑Thu Sep 20, 2018 2:55 pm
I was amazed that the Peter Built plant in Denton turned out 93 trucks per day some 20 years ago.
The Peterbilt plant in Denton has large area bordering on I-35W, just after the split where southbound
I-35 becomes I-35W southbound to Fort Worth, or I-35E southbound to Dallas. These 2 roads then merge
onto I-35 only, south of the DFW Metroplex.
Despite this huge opportunity to put up a beautiful, proud sign "Home of Peterbilt Production" sign, or somesuch,
the company has not capitalized on their great public relations opportunity.
The only thing that draws your attention to their site is that they park all the new tractors close to I-35W.
IIRC, if you look deeper into the property, they may have a company logo on the building but its advertising
value is close to zero.
If I were Peterbilt I would build a large beautiful sign trumpeting the company's presence.
But no one listens to me. :-)
SIA
Re: Ford Willow Run Assembly Plant one B-24 every 55 minutes
Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2018 8:02 pm
by The Marshal
I love WW2 Aviation! The Liberator was one of my favorite aircraft, and the story of Ploesti is filled with courage beyond belief.
Watch the video again, and look at the 3:57 - you will see the Navigator is half-out of the top hatch, guiding the bomber on the tarmac! Not something you normally see in pictures or video.
Anyone planning on attending the CAF Wings over Dallas on Oct 27?
They will have B-29. B-24, and B-17s in the air!